Sex and the City meets the Dalai Lama. Buns and Marty use their lively escapades to ignite an authentic inquiry into themselves ... an emotionally-naked exposé baring all.
Their keen observations of life’s twists and turns will inspire you to use your obstacles as a path to your heart’s desire.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Thank you Joni Mitchell.

Eleven years ago Joni Mitchell walked into
my store to browse.Being an avid fan, I immediately went verklempt,
my hands started sweating, and I was at a loss for words.When I finally pulled myself together, we
began a life-changing conversation (for me) about aging.

I knew she was approaching her 60th
birthday at the time, so I asked her how it felt… she told me that when she turned 40
she wasn’t that bothered, 50 was amazing, she was really excited about turning
60 and couldn’t imagine how fabulous her 70th would be.I was so amazed at her positive outlook on
growing older, that I chose to follow her lead.This summer, I celebrated my 60th
birthday and it was nothing short of magical.The whole summer long.

It began before my actual birthday with a
lovely lunch with my dear friend Stephanie.Balloons, gifts, and lively conversation started my 3-month celebration.
I was flown back East so I could be with my family on the big day.My son was able to join us.We did a live jam at the local Moonshine Café
and I felt very blessed by all who showed up.During that week I was kidnapped, and taken to one of my sister’s new
cottage, surprised by a sailing excursion… every day was a new adventure.

I came home to another big party held in my
honour, preceded by yet another sailing trip (do my friends know me or what?),
lots of music, a generous contribution to my son’s scholarship fund, and a fabulous pair of cowboy boots that
actually match my turquoise Mini, (yes, she is now in my driveway… yet another
amazing story), and this was only halfway through June!

While the rest of my summer didn’t
completely revolve around me, you already know about my son’s fabulous wedding
and how much love was in the air on that occasion!

Next I was off to my annual silent retreat
and if you have never done one before, it is the closest thing to heaven when
you enter that sweet, sacred silence and meet love in its purest form… and be
with it for several days.

Then there was the “Topless Tour”, where we
drove Molly the Mini, top down, to perform in Merritt.I love playing music with my friends, and
this weekend was thoroughly soul satisfying.

(I actually did manage to work in between
these exploits, and was able to achieve my next level of leadership in my company… I was feted with flowers and food as acknowledgement.)

But wait.There’s more! I was able to get myself off to San Diego for a 3-day
conference followed by a day in La Jolla learning how to body surf.Have I said I’m in heaven yet?

Twenty-four hours after returning from that
jaunt, I was diving into Lake Sakinaw, helping Marty celebrate her milestone
birthday.It was four days of amazing
feasts, wine, story-telling, frolicking in the water, (including learning how
to navigate a stand-up paddle board!), and lots of singing and’smores!

Back home for less than 3 hours, I was off
to sing at a “Music in the Park” event at Cleveland Park in North Vancouver!

And it hasn’t stopped.There is still an outstanding boat cruise for
me and my friends to wrap up my birthday year.I must tell Joni how right she was.

How do you thank everyone who has done so
much to make this the Best. Summer. Ever.? I’ve decided the best way is to
continue to spread the joy, love, and light that was directed my way all summer
long.I am so very blessed.

Branded by love,

Birthday Buns. xo

P.S.Later that afternoon of first meeting Joni, I found her sitting in a restaurant waiting for a
ferry.I approached her and asked if she
would mind some company.She welcomed me to
her table and I sang Happy Birthday to her.I love getting bolder. She not only inspired me to age joyfully, but also my love of singing. This is the first song I ever performed of hers. It's from her album Court and Spark, and I was actually singing “in the lounge of the Empire Hotel”... another great song from this album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiKrk2Jcx8U

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How it all began

Our sons were friends. Like brothers really. We mothers had never met but both our guys kept saying we should. Then Duncan passed away. It was through Marty's support of Buns' grieving her son that a deep friendship was forged.

Duncan inspired us. If his life, at 22, could get snuffed out like that, without any warning, then why wouldn't we live each day to the max ... grateful for every second, whether mundane or profound?

Really, we're not interested in writing just about the happy times. We are interested in also using the pain, the sorrow, the disappointments -- the realities of life -- to stretch and grow.

Inherent in everything that happens, at the heart of it lies love. Sometimes it doesn't look like love. We have to go through all the layers of ourselves authentically and feel them in order to reveal that essence.

But hey. It's not all serious. We have a blast. We go blindly into spontaneous adventures that some might consider reckless (Marty's word), or random (Buns' word), but regardless, whatever it is we are doing, we are awake and choosing to live out loud.

If you want to catch all the glorious details of the Buns and Marty escapades, you can start with our first post under Blog Archive (November 2010 -- Today has already been amazing -- and read the posts from bottom to top).

A BUNS & MARTY UPDATE!

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